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Europe’s biggest lender confirmed its review into whether to move its headquarters from London abroad may take longer than initially planned.

It had intended to make an announcement by the end of the year.

But chairman Douglas Flint described this as a ‘self imposed deadline that could move if we require further time’.

Hong Kong is still seen as the most likely destination for HSBC but alternatives including the US and Canada have also been touted.

Looking East: HSBC is shifting its focus to Asia

After being hit by tougher regulations and fines in Europe and the US, the bank is carrying out a sweeping reorganisation to boost profits – shifting its focus to Asia, where it hopes to cash in on the rapidly expanding middle class.

A key part of HSBC’s strategic review – announced In June – is also to cut 25,000 jobs, including up to 8,000 in the UK.

But yesterday the bank confirmed that the number of staff rose by 2,231 from the end of last year to 259,834 as it was forced to hire more legal and compliance staff to cope with new regulations.

These include new ‘ringfencing’ rules forcing the UK’s biggest lenders to insulate their High Street operation from the rest of the business, including the investment bank, by 2019.

HSBC (down 4.1p to 503.5p on November 2) revealed good progress on cutting costs and shrinking its balance sheet.

This impressed analysts including Ian Gordon from Investec, who said ‘HSBC’s reassuring dullness shines through’ in the latest results.